Fired Lake Alfred Chamber Worker Has History of Arrests

LAKE ALFRED | An Auburndale woman fired for altering three payroll checks has a history of similar wrongdoings under other names.

By MARGARITA CAMBESTLEDGER MEDIA GROUP

LAKE ALFRED | An Auburndale woman fired for altering three payroll checks has a history of similar wrongdoings under other names.

Mary Elizabeth Lambeth, 46, has felony charges as Mary Elizabeth Curran, a married name, according to Polk County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Scott Wilder.

Lambeth was fired from the Lake Alfred Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 9 after the chamber's executive director, Fran Beach, noticed a difference in the nonprofit's bank statement.

Beach notified chamber president Audra Kosensky and the two contacted the chamber's bank.

Kosensky said the money was returned because the bank erred in cashing altered checks.

The Lake Alfred Police Department is continuing the investigation with the State Attorney's Office and has not decided whether to seek an arrest, said Chief of Police Art Bodenheimer.

As Curran in 1992, Lambeth was found guilty of felony charges of forgery, uttering a forged instrument and petit theft after stealing blank checks from her mother-in-law. She served 10 days in jail and was sentenced to five years of probation. She was divorced in 1993, according to court documents.

In 1994, she was arrested again on charges of check fraud and petit or retail theft.

In 1996, she was sentenced to a work release program after violating probation.

Auburndale Police Department received an affidavit about a worthless check written by Lambeth in 2009 but charges were not filed.

Lambeth's most recent charges include writing a worthless check to Aaron's, a home furnishings sales and lease company, in January 2010. The case was dropped in April 2010.

She also failed to notify the state of an address or name change in 2011, which is mandatory for felons, and paid civil fines.

When contacted to find out if a background check was run before hiring Lambeth, Kosensky did not return phone calls or an email.